The March 1st Movement, also known as Sam-il(3·1)Movement was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the ruling of Korea by Japan. The name refers to an event that occurred on March 1, 1919, hence the movement's name, literally meaning "Three-One Movement" or "March First Movement" in Korean. It is also sometimes referred to as the Man-se Demonstrations (Hangul: 만세운동; Hanja: 萬歲運動; RR: Manse Undong).

Contents

The Samil Movement came as a result of the repressive nature of colonial occupation under the military rule of the Japanese Empire following 1905, and the "Fourteen Points" outlining the right of national "self-determination" proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919. After hearing news of Wilson’s speech, Korean students studying in Tokyo published a statement demanding freedom from colonial rule.

Adding to this was the death of former Emperor Gojong on January 21, 1919. There was widespread suspicion that he had been poisoned, credible since previous attempts (the "coffee plot") were well-known.[citation needed]

At 2 P.M. on March 1, 1919, 33 activists who formed the core of the Samil Movement convened at Taehwagwan Restaurant in Seoul and read the Korean Declaration of Independence that had been drawn up by historian Choe Nam-seon. The activists initially planned to assemble at Tapgol Park in downtown Seoul, but chose a more private location out of fear that the gathering might turn into a riot. The leaders of the movement signed the document and sent a copy to the Governor General.

“

We here with proclaim the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people. This we proclaim to all the nations of the world in witness of human equality. This we proclaim to our descendents so that they may enjoy in perpetuity their inherent right to nationhood.

In as much as this proclamation originates from our five-thousand-year history, in as much as it springs from the loyalty of twenty million people, in as much as it affirms our yearning for the advancement of everlasting liberty, in as much as it expresses our desire to take part in the global reform rooted in human conscience, it is the solemn will of heaven, the great tide of our age, and a just act necessary for the co-existence of all humankind. Therefore, no power in this world can obstruct or suppress it!

”

The movement leaders then telephoned the central police station to inform them of their actions and were arrested afterwards.

Before the formal declaration, Korea also aired the following complaints to be heard by the Japanese people through papers and media:

The belief that the government would discriminate when employing Koreans versus Japanese people; they claimed that no Koreans held important positions in the government.

The existence of a disparity in education being offered to Korean and Japanese people.

The Japanese despised and mistreated Koreans in general.

Political officials, both Korean and Japanese, were arrogant.

There was no special treatment for the upper class or scholars.

The administrative processes were too complicated and laws were being made too frequently for the general public to follow.

There was too much forced labor that was not desired by the public.

Taxes were too heavy and the Korean people were paying more than before, while getting the same amount of services.

Land continued to be confiscated by the Japanese people for personal reasons.

Korean village teachers were being forced out of their jobs because the Japanese people were trying to suppress their heritage and teachings.

The development of Korea had been for the benefit for the Japanese. They argued that while Koreans were working towards development, they did not reap the benefits of their own work.

These grievances were highly influenced by ‘‘‘Wilson’s Declaration of the Principle of Self Determination’’’.[1]

Despite the activists' concerns, massive crowds assembled in Pagoda Park to hear a student, Chung Jae-yong, read the declaration publicly. Afterwards, the gathering formed into a peaceable procession, which the Japanese military police attempted to suppress. Special delegates associated with the movement also read copies of the independence proclamation from appointed places throughout the country at 2 PM on that same day.

As the processions continued to grow, the Japanese local and military police could not control the crowds. The panicked Japanese officials called in military forces to quell the crowds including the naval forces. As the public protests continued to grow, the suppression turned to violence resulting in massacres and other atrocities. In one notable example, Japanese police herded the inhabitants of the village of Jeam-ri into a locked church before burning it to the ground, even shooting through the burning windows to ensure that no one made it out alive.[citation needed]

Approximately 2,000,000 Koreans had participated in the more than 1,500 demonstrations, many who were massacred by the Japanese police force and army.[2] The frequently cited The Bloody History of the Korean Independence Movement (Hangul: 한국독립운동지혈사; Hanja: 韓國獨立運動之血史) by Park Eun-sik reported 7,509 people killed, 15,849 wounded, and 46,303 arrested. From March 1 to April 11, Japanese officials reported 553 people killed with over 12,000 arrested, 8 policemen and military killed, and 158 wounded. Many arrested were taken to the infamous Seodaemun Prison in Seoul where they faced torture, death without trial or due process.[citation needed]

In 1920, the Battle of Chingshanli broke out in Manchuria between exiled Korean independence fighters and the Japanese Army.

The March 1st Movement provided a catalytic momentum for the Korean Independence Movement. The ensuing suppression and hunting down of activists by the Japanese resulted in the expatriation of Korean leaders into Manchuria, Shanghai and other parts of China where they continued their activities. The Movement was a catalyst for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in April 1919 and also influenced nonviolent resistance in India and many other countries.[3] The Korean Liberation Army was also subsequently formed and allowed to operate in China by the Nationalist Government of China. The movement also saw a rise in mobilization of Catholic and Protestant activists as well as activism mobilized in the U.S., China and Russia.

The Japanese government reacted to the March 1st Movement by heightening its suppression of dissent and dismissing the Movement as the "Chosun Manse Violent Public Disorder Incident" (조선 공공 만세 폭력 사건). Governor-GeneralHasegawa Yoshimichi accepted responsibility for the loss of control (although most of the repressive measures leading to the uprising had been put into place by his predecessors) and was replaced by Saito Makoto. The military police were replaced by a civilian force, and limited press freedom was permitted under what was termed the 'cultural policy'. Many of these lenient policies were reversed during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

President Woodrow Wilson issued his Fourteen Points in January 1919. The points included… in terms of US relations with Korea, ‘a free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims.’ [4]

However, as manifested at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Wilson was not interested in challenging global power relations. Since Japan was one of the victors, a discussion of the status of Korea was inappropriate.[4]

In April 1919, the US State Department told the ambassador to Japan that "the consulate [in Seoul] should be extremely careful not to encourage any belief that the United States will assist the Korean nationalists in carrying out their plans and that it should not do anything which may cause Japanese authorities to suspect [the] American Government sympathizes with the Korean nationalist movement."[5]

Japan violently suppressed the March First Movement, and true to its word, the United States remained silent.[4] Despite this, representatives were chosen to go and represent Korea’s interests at the Paris Peace Conference. Dr. Rhee (representing Hawaii), Rev. Chan Ho Min (representing the West Coast) and Dr. Henry Han Kyung Chung (representing the Midwest) were selected but never made it to Paris due to visa problems and the fear that the delegates may not be allowed to reenter the United States.[6]

After considerable effort, he managed to arrange passage with members of the Chinese delegation to the peace conference, making the trip with a Chinese passport and under a Chinese name in order to evade the Japanese police. The Chinese, of course, were eager for the opportunity to embarrass Japan at the international forum, and several top Chinese leaders at the time, including Sun Yat-sen, told U.S. diplomats that the peace conference should take up the question of Korean independence. Beyond that, however, the Chinese, locked in a struggle against the Japanese themselves, could do little for Korea.[7]

However the United States did not pay any substantial attention to them, and the delegation was blocked from official participation due to the status of Korea as a Japanese colony.[8]

The failure of the Korean nationalists to gain support from the Paris Peace Conference ended the possibility of foreign support.[9]

An immense procession of Korean demonstrators, shouting "Mansei" afrer presenting the declaration of independence to the American Consulate. The Consulate building appears in the background―Seoul

Korean spectators viewing the Korean flag on the Independence Memorial Arch. The flag which was invisible before March first of 1919 is now very clear.

Thousands of enthusiastic Koreans, including women and girls, shouting "Mansei" with hands in the air outside the palace in Seoul.

Demonstration for independence in the Park. The Koreans are seen shouting "Mansei" with their hands up in the air. Not a single man is armed,

For the cause of freedom. Acts of Japanese torture and barbarism.

A corner of the park where Japanese soldiers are stationed to suppress Korean demonstrations.

A Korean girl student killed by the Japanese police and abandoned at the roadside while traveling from Seoul to Suwon.

For the cause of freedom. Acts of Japanese torture and barbarism.

For the cause of freedom. Acts of Japanese torture and barbarism.

The pitiful widows weeping after their husbands were massacred by Japanese soldiers.

The Ruins of Hwa Su Ri village after the Japanese soldiers destroyed by fire and murdering its inhabitants. Now nothing remains but a huge heap of broken tile, dirt, and brick.

For the cause of freedom. Acts of Japanese torture and barbarism.

Japanese policeman taking Korean women to prison for shouting "Long Live Korea."

A view of the remains of earthenware in Wha Su Ri village after it was destroyed by Japanese soldiers.

Funeral for those who have been massacred by Japanese soldiers in the Independence Movement.

Remnants of the Chai Am-ni(Jeam-ri) village, Suwon, 31 houses including the church out of 39 in all was burned to the ground by the barbarous Japaneses soldiers.

Children of the Su-Chon village four or five miles from Chai Am-ni where the wholesale murder of a number of Koreans occurred,whose home and food had been destroyed by the Japanese soldiers, wandering in the fields to pick herbs to sustain their lives.

For the cause of freedom. Acts of Japanese torture and barbarism. Buttocks beaten into mesh with 90 blows of bamboo.

This man is more fortunate. He has a bayonet stab in this eye. He was taken into one of the mission (Christian) hospitals, where he received treatment. The picture was taken on week after the man received wound.

After the first surprise the Japanese authorities turned loose the soldiers on the Koreans. This picture shows how one of them was slashed and cut up all over the body by merciless Japanese soldiers.

Another piece of Japanese brutality. The leg of a Korean is beaten flat after being shot at.